Accounting and tax for short-term rental hosts
Finvo keeps the books and handles the tax for short-term rental hosts in British Columbia and Alberta, from one suite in your home to several units. We reconcile booking-platform payouts by property, look after GST, BC PST and MRDT or Alberta's tourism levy, and prepare your year-end and tax return.
Hosts who rent by the night, not just the month
Whether you list on Airbnb, VRBO or another booking platform, or take bookings directly, the tax rules follow the stay, not the website.
A suite or room in your home
A basement suite, laneway home or spare room in the place you live. Shared costs are split, and the principal residence question needs care.
A unit you don't live in
A condo, cabin or second property, where local rules allow it. Usually more income, more GST and PST questions, and more to track.
Several units
Books by property, more than one booking channel, cleaners and co-hosts to pay, and a point where a corporation may be worth a look.
What we handle for hosts
The usual books and returns, plus the parts that are particular to short-term rentals. A senior manager reviews the work, and you can ask questions all year.
Bookkeeping by property
Income, platform fees, cleaning, supplies and repairs recorded for each unit, so you can see what each one really earns.
About bookkeepingPayout reconciliation
Every booking-platform payout broken back into guest charges, fees and taxes, and matched to your bank.
How payouts are bookedGST, PST and MRDT
Registration when you need it, GST returns, BC PST and MRDT returns, or Alberta's tourism levy, with what the platforms already collect kept separate.
GST, PST and accommodation taxesRental or business income
Whether your income goes on form T776 as rental income or form T2125 as business income, based on the services you provide.
Which form appliesCCA decisions
Whether to claim capital cost allowance on the building and furniture, and what it means for a later sale and your principal residence.
Deductions and CCAYear-end and tax return
Year-end statements by property and your personal or corporate return, built from books that are already done.
About tax returnsA payout is not your income
What lands in your bank is what's left after the booking platform takes its fees. Your income is the full amount the guest paid for the stay, including any cleaning fee, and the platform's fee is an expense.
Taxes are kept apart too. PST, MRDT, GST or the tourism levy a platform collects and sends to government isn't your income. If you're registered for GST yourself, the GST on your bookings is yours to report.
Booking the payout as income understates both your sales and your fees, and can throw off your GST and PST returns.
Example: one three-night stay
A labelled example only. Platform fees vary by platform and plan, and taxes the platform collects and remits are left out.
Rental income or business income?
CRA looks at the services you provide with the stay. The more you provide, the more it looks like a business, like a small hotel or bed and breakfast, rather than renting out space.
The answer changes more than the form. Business income is self-employment income, so CPP contributions generally apply to it. Rental income doesn't carry CPP, but different rules apply to capital cost allowance and losses.
A host renting a few nights a year and one hosting full time can land on different sides. We look at what you actually provide.
Usually rental income (form T776)
You provide the space and basics such as heat, light, parking, internet and fresh linen between stays.
May be business income (form T2125)
You add services such as meals, cleaning during the stay, tours or other hotel-like extras.
The rules, in plain language
Three guides for hosts in BC and Alberta, checked against official sources.
GST, PST and accommodation taxes
When GST applies to a stay, BC's 8% PST and up to 3% MRDT, Alberta's tourism levy, and what booking platforms collect for you.
Read the tax guideDeductions and CCA
What you can deduct, splitting personal use, mortgage interest, CCA classes, and the rule that denies expenses for non-compliant rentals.
Read the deductions guideRules in BC and Alberta
BC's principal residence requirement and provincial registry, local business licences, and how Alberta's cities handle short-term rentals.
Read the rules guideA plan based on how you host
Pricing is explained on the business membership page. We confirm your price before any work starts.
- How many units you have, and where they are
- How many booking channels you use
- Whether you're registered for GST, BC PST or the tourism levy
- Whether you own personally, jointly or through a corporation
- Whether there are past years to catch up
Three steps, mostly ours
Guests keep you busy, so the start is short.
A look at how you host
On a free call, we go through your units, booking channels, registrations and last return, and point out anything that looks missed.
Set up and catch up
We set up books by property, sort out GST and PST registration if it's needed, and file anything outstanding.
Every month after
You send payout reports and receipts through the client portal. We keep the books and file your returns.
Short-term rental accounting, answered
Do I have to charge GST on my short-term rental?
Stays of less than a month at more than $20 a day are generally taxable for GST. If your taxable sales stay at $30,000 or less over four calendar quarters in a row, you're generally a small supplier and don't have to register. When an unregistered host books through a booking platform, the platform generally collects the GST instead.
Is short-term rental income rental income or business income?
It depends on the services you provide. If you mainly provide the space with basics like heat, light and parking, it's usually rental income on form T776. If you add services such as meals, regular cleaning during stays or tours, it may be business income on form T2125. We look at how you actually host.
Can I deduct expenses if I rent out part of my home?
Generally, yes, for the part you rent and the time it's rented. Shared costs such as utilities, insurance and property tax are split on a reasonable basis, for example floor space and days rented. Expenses can be denied if the rental doesn't meet provincial or municipal registration or licensing rules.
Do booking platforms collect PST and MRDT in BC?
Platforms registered as online marketplace facilitators collect PST and MRDT on bookings made through them. If you list only through such a platform, you generally don't need to register yourself, but you stay jointly liable for tax they don't collect. If you also take bookings another way, you must register.
Do you work with hosts who have several properties?
Yes. We keep the books by property, so you can see income, fees and costs for each unit, and we can look at whether a corporation or partnership makes sense as you grow. We work with hosts across BC and Alberta, online or at our Surrey, Edmonton and Courtenay offices.
How much does short-term rental accounting cost?
Your price depends on how your business runs: how many units you have, how many booking channels you use and whether you're registered for GST or PST. We confirm your price before any work starts. Pricing is explained on the business membership page.
Sources, checked 26 Oct 2026. Rules have exceptions and can change. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice for your situation.
- Excise Tax Act (laws-lois.justice.gc.ca): Schedule V, Part I, s.6 (stays of one month or more, or $20 a day or less, are exempt); s.123(1) and s.211.1 to 211.22 (accommodation platform operators, from July 2021).
- CRA, Platform-based short-term accommodation, canada.ca; small-supplier threshold of $30,000.
- Government of BC, Accommodation (PST and MRDT, published 21 May 2026), gov.bc.ca.
- Government of Alberta, Tourism levy, alberta.ca: 6% for stays booked after 31 Mar 2026.
- Income Tax Act s.67.7 (laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, modified 15 Oct 2026): expenses of non-compliant short-term rentals.
- CRA, Rental Income guide T4036, canada.ca: rental or business income, CCA.
Let's look at your rental numbers
Book a free 15-minute call by video or phone. Tell us how many units you host, where they are and how you take bookings, and we'll explain what we'd do and confirm your price before any work starts.
Which office?
Book a free 15-minute call15-minute calls every weekday at 10 am and 2 pm Pacific (11 am and 3 pm Mountain), except holidays.
Typical next slots, confirmed when you book:
Call (236) 300-3322Email contact@finvo.caMon–Fri, 9 am – 5 pm PT/MT5.0 on Google · 92 reviews